ABSTRACT
Custodian agencies are primarily international organizations responsible for developing methodologies, collecting, managing and ensuring the quality of data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators. They collaborate with national statistical systems to produce global and regional indicators and report them to the United Nations Statistics Division. These agencies also provide capacity-building support to countries, ensuring data standardization for global comparisons. There are 48 custodian agencies, with many indicators overseen by multiple organizations. Major UN custodian agencies collectively oversee 79% of global indicators and work on various themes like health, environment and education. The system is fragmented, however, with agencies often working independently or with limited coordination, affecting the efficiency of SDG implementation. A more structured coordination framework is needed to improve leadership and avoid inefficiencies.
